AN: Thank you Lilempress1995 for your review. And thank you for the favorites and follows.
Chapter 10: The First Fight
"Hey Sasuke, is it really true Itachi will be graduating this semester?" Naruto asked his rival who was sitting next to him.
"That's so cool man." The blonde exclaimed even though Sasuke neither confirmed nor denied the statement. Naruto simply took Sasuke's silence as a yes. Besides, since it was Itachi, anything was possible.
"That's three years of studies done in one year. Is your brother really human Uchiha?" Asked Kiba. Despite Itachi's brilliance being common knowledge in the Leaf Academy, people still felt awed by him. And Sasuke was used to it too. Make no mistake, Sasuke Uchiha was very proud of his older brother. It was just that sometimes he felt sad. Sad because Sasuke had already accepted in his heart that he'd never be as good as his older brother. No matter how hard he tried. No matter how far he pushed himself. Sasuke was doomed to live in Itachi's shadow.
Truth to be told, Sasuke wouldn't have minded it all that much. He'd have happily chased after his brother his entire life. But people expected him to excel and be equal to Itachi. Every day Sasuke was compared to Itachi. It was as if people refused to see Sasuke as an individual. Refused to acknowledge his talents. Sasuke was a genius too. And if not for Itachi, he would've been considered a prodigy as well. Unfortunately, next to the brightness that was Itachi, the younger brother failed to shine. Not that Sasuke hated Itachi for it. No, it was quite the opposite. Itachi was the only person Sasuke truly admired. Itachi was his inspiration. His motivation. His ultimate goal.
Yes, Sasuke had already accepted in his heart that he'd never be like Itachi, yet he never stopped trying. There was more than one reason for that. Sasuke wanted to hear his father saying 'That's my boy' to him too like he said it to Itachi every time the elder achieved something. He wanted his uncles to look at him with pride the way they looked at Itachi. But most importantly, Sasuke kept trying harder and harder because he knew Itachi wanted him to continue. His nii-san never wanted him to give up. Sasuke knew for a fact that if he gave up, his brother would be very sad. And Sasuke never wanted that.
Lately, however, things were starting to change for Sasuke. For a few days now, the boy really wanted to give up. All his efforts were futile. Everything seemed pointless to Sasuke. No one was noticing it but a storm was coming. Slowly but surely, Sasuke was building a wall around his heart. And why wouldn't he? He was hurting so much these days. Sasuke could tolerate people comparing him with his brother. He could endure people looking down on him, criticizing him even if it was his own father. The boy could bear the fact that he was a huge disappointment. What Sasuke Uchiha couldn't stand was getting ignored by Itachi. His beloved nii-san. Sasuke had needed, and craved for Itachi's attention since he was an infant. It was nothing short of oxygen for the youngest Uchiha.
At first, Sasuke tried to be understanding and mature about it. He knew Itachi had a lot of things to do since he was graduating so early. But damn it, was it too difficult for Itachi to find a little time for his baby brother? Every time Sasuke finished his homework quickly in hopes of spending some time with his brother, Itachi would poke him in the head, quietly apologize saying he was busy and then turn him away or leave himself. Nowadays Itachi barely even looked at Sasuke. And it hurt the boy. It hurt him so much. Itachi was pushing him away. Sasuke didn't realize it before since Itachi was so subtle about it but he could see it clearly now. The worse thing was Sasuke didn't even know why this was happening. Was his brother ashamed of Sasuke since he was failing to be as good as him? Why was he being treated like an annoying pest? Did Itachi not like him anymore? But why? WHY? And most importantly what could Sasuke do to change it?
Sasuke wanted the old times back when Itachi's world revolved around Sasuke and vice versa. When Itachi was used to finishing all his homework early or after Sasuke fell asleep so that he could play and spend time with his little brother. Sasuke really wanted that attention, and that love back. Fine, it didn't have to be the exact same as before. Sasuke would be happy if Itachi spent some time with him every once in a couple of days. He would be more than satisfied with that. It wasn't too much to ask, right? This evening Itachi had promised to go to the carnival with him. And he had also promised that this time he wouldn't break his promise. Sasuke had every intention of thoroughly enjoying the time with his nii-san. However, he also had plans of asking Itachi some questions. Questions such as when did other things start to matter more to Itachi than his precious otouto? Just when did that happen? And why? Sasuke also wanted to ask, what should he do so that Itachi would pay attention to him again?
"Hey Sasuke-teme, are you going to the carnival tonight?" Naruto asked. Immediately Ino and Sakura's ears peaked up. Obviously, they were more interested in Sasuke's answer than Naruto.
"Of course, I am," said Sasuke coolly. The answer made the girls grin happily.
"Hey, then we can go-" Before Naruto could say more, Sasuke cut him off.
"I am going there with nii-san." Hearing that answer everyone immediately backed down. Even Ino and Sakura. For some mysterious reason, most of Sasuke's classmates feared Itachi. Not that Sasuke wasn't thankful for it. But he knew for certain that Itachi never did anything harmful to anyone. He never threatened anyone. Never even tried to intimidate Sasuke's classmates. Still, the older brother was feared. Perhaps Itachi's presence was too overwhelming for dobes like Naruto to handle. And ordinary people alike.
"Oh right. Well, have fun teme. Though we'll probably run into each other anyway" said Naruto awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.
"Oh, it would've been so much fun if Sasuke-kun came along with us." Sasuke heard Sakura complain unhappily which he pretended to never hear.
School ended for the day. It had been a long time since both brothers came back home together. Itachi always had something up. Hence Sasuke rushed back home himself, though feeling all excited. He planned to get ready and wait for Itachi to come back home after he was done with whatever he was busy with now. The main objective was to go to the carnival and spend some time together. As long as that happened, Sasuke had nothing to complain about. Little did Sasuke know he was gonna wait for a long time and tonight was gonna be a very stormy night?
As soon as Itachi was done with his work at school, he headed over to Izuna's place instead of going home. For a while, Shisui was secretly tracking Danzo's movements. Danzo Shimura was a very important and powerful man of Konoha. He had a strong influence outside Konoha too. Most of the country's spies worked under Danzo and were completely controlled by him. Even the government relied heavily on that man. However, even though Danzo mostly worked for the benefit of Konoha but his methods were undeniably questionable. He was involved in plenty of underhanded dealings. Long story short, Danzo was a dangerous man and for some reason, he considered the Uchihas a threat to the nation. Or more accurately a threat to him. This was the reason Madara had asked Shisui to keep an eye on the man.
Danzo's fear wasn't unfounded though. It was quite true that if anyone had enough power to destroy the whole country overnight it was the Uchihas. In fact, Madara could single-handedly overthrow the current government without so much as sweating. The Hyugas may be powerful too but unlike the Uchihas, they weren't so dangerously intelligent and cunning. Not to mention Danzo had himself to protect too from the Uchihas. The man knew if the Uchihas ever wanted to interfere in his work, he'd be doomed. It was quite a bit of luck and Danzo's cleverness that he and the Uchihas hadn't clashed with each other yet. But how long could he avoid them? How long would the Uchihas turn a blind eye to his activities and not feel like bringing him down? Danzo obviously wanted to bring them down first before the Uchihas could strike him. But he couldn't do it. Not when Danzo intended to get rid of his enemies without dirtying his own hands. Or rather without his enemies knowing it was he who was behind everything. Luckily for the Uchihas, Danzo was getting a little impatient. It was only a matter of time before he made a move to get rid of his problem permanently. That was if he hadn't already.
While keeping an eye on Danzo, Shisui had found something. Something that would help the Uchihas solve an old mystery. The question 'Who had tried to kill Itachi?' would, at last, have an answer. As soon as Shisui found a clue, he had involved Itachi in it. He knew his cousin would want to be a part of it.
When Itachi arrived at the mansion, Shisui greeted him at the door. "Where's uncle?" Itachi inquired about Izuna since he didn't appear to be home at the moment. Otherwise, Izuna would've come to greet Itachi.
"Dad left for Suna this morning. He said he'd be back in three days." Itachi nodded his head at the reply.
"So, what did you find out?" Itachi asked getting straight to the business. Shisui had informed him earlier that day that he had found something very important. Hence, Itachi hurried here as soon as school was over. Shisui led Itachi up to his bedroom where he usually worked. Meanwhile, he began to explain things to Itachi as well.
"Last night I was able to hack into Danzo's computer." Shisui despite being young his hacking skills were second to none. He was a prodigy in his own way. Shisui was an Uchiha too after all.
"At first though I found nothing. The man is clever, I'll give him that. He doesn't keep any records of anything on his computer. As the saying goes, it's so clean that it's dirty. And so, I looked deeper."
"I hacked the people Danzo ever had any online interaction with or telephone communication. Even if Danzo had spoken to a person only once, I did a thorough background check. Let's call them group one. There weren't many though so it didn't take much time. However, when I began to check into the people, group one had communicated with, I began to find broken links to some activities. I selected one broken link first and then began to track it down. In the end, I found this." Shisui typed something on his keyboard and a window opened on the monitor for Itachi to see. It was actually a long list of illegal activities. Illegal arms dealing, drugs dealing, human trafficking, and whatnot. Danzo owned many illegal laboratories as well under false names. One could only imagine what must happen there. Looking at the list, Itachi was clear about one thing, Danzo thought himself a necessary evil for the well-being of the nation.
"I was able to track down all these illegal activities just from a single broken link. I wonder what the rest of the broken links would reveal?" Shisui said that more to himself than to Itachi.
"Can uncle Madara bring Danzo down with this?" Itachi asked to which Shisui shook his head.
"If we expose Danzo's illegal activities, I'm sure he'll expose some of ours. Uncle Madara can't attack him head-on. Just like Danzo can't take us down openly. We need to find something far stronger than a list of illegal activities to gain leverage on Danzo."
"Did you find any solid proof that Danzo was behind the attack on me all those years ago?" Itachi asked. Both cousins had a pretty strong hunch about Danzo being the culprit. Actually, they were pretty sure about it. All they needed now was solid proof before they took any action.
"I was hoping to find it in these links. But it's gonna take me some time" said Shisui.
"I'll help." Itachi immediately responded.
Itachi Uchiha wasn't seeking revenge. He couldn't care less that Danzo had tried to kill him. What Itachi wanted was to avenge his friend Tenma. He wouldn't find peace unless he did. To this day Itachi felt both grateful and guilty about Tenma saving his life. Also, there was this bone-chilling fact that Danzo was a threat to Sasuke's life. Just because he had failed to kill Itachi, didn't mean the man wouldn't try to harm anyone else in the Uchiha family and Sasuke was the most vulnerable member. If Danzo wanted to strike again, his target would undoubtedly be the youngest Uchiha. Not that Itachi would ever let anyone lay a finger on his baby brother, let alone a disgusting man like Danzo. But still, the sooner that man was dealt with the better.
"Alright, let's get started then," said Shisui.
"It's gonna take all night. You should call aunt Mikoto and let her know you're staying over." Itachi pulled out his phone and dialed his mother's number. Mikoto picked up at the second ring and immediately inquired.
"Itachi, where are you?" She sounded anxious as well.
"I'm at uncle Izuna's mother. I need some help from Shisui for a school project that I'm working on. It's gonna take a while so I'm gonna stay over for the night." Itachi smoothly lied to his mother. Not that he liked doing so. It was just something he needed to do to keep things easier.
"But Itachi, you promised Sasuke you will go with him to the carnival. He is waiting for you. Can't you work on your project tomorrow dear?" Mikoto almost sounded as if she was pleading with her firstborn to come back home. Sasuke must be giving her hell about going to the carnival with his brother who wasn't showing up.
"Sorry, mother. I can't. I need to submit the papers tomorrow. Tell Sasuke I'm sorry and I'll talk to him when I get back home." Itachi heard his mother sighing heavily. She knew there was no point in requesting Itachi anymore. He wouldn't listen.
"Alright dear, I will talk to Sasuke. Don't work too hard. See you tomorrow" said Mikoto.
"Bye mother." With that Itachi disconnected the call. As he looked up, he saw Shisui staring at him.
"Is everything alright with Sasuke?" The older cousin asked curiously.
"Yes, everything's fine. It's just a carnival I was supposed to take Sasuke to today. I'll make it up to him later." This time as well Itachi lied smoothly, but Shisui caught that.
"Will you?" Shisui asked straight away.
"Itachi I've noticed something. For a while now, you're kind of avoiding Sasuke. Why is that? And don't bother lying to me. You know it doesn't work." Itachi knew he was trapped. Shisui wouldn't let him off unless he answered. The younger Uchiha sighed heavily.
"I'm doing this for him Shisui. Sasuke has to grow out of my shadows. He needs to see there's a whole world out there and people he could become friends with. Since his birth, Sasuke's life has revolved around me. He has depended on me for strength and comfort. As much as I like to provide him with that, Sasuke should find someone or something else to rely on too other than me. That's the only way he'd grow strong and become someone other than Itachi's little brother."
"I understand what you're saying but it's more than that, isn't it?" Shisui claimed with surety.
"I-" Itachi paused for a moment. He closed his eyes shut as if in great agony. "It's my fault Shisui."
"It's all my fault," said the troubled Uchiha.
"I'm the reason Sasuke's life is so difficult. He doesn't let it show but I know how much stress he's under. All because he got a 'Prodigy' for an older brother." Itachi spat the word Prodigy with utmost hatred.
"The constant comparison. The pressure. It's getting to him Shisui. I can see it so clearly yet I'm helpless to do anything. And I hate myself for it. Every time I look at Sasuke now, I feel suffocated from guilt. I'm ruining Sasuke's childhood despite wanting the opposite." Itachi let himself inhale a deep breath. His emotions were getting out of control. He needed to calm down.
"Sasuke has to see me as an obstacle for him to overcome. Otherwise, he'd never be free of being Itachi Uchiha's shadow."
"If I have to push him away from me for that to happen so, be it. Even if he hates me... I'll endure his hatred."
"But then again, I bet he already does hate me," Itachi sounded sad despite not wanting to let his emotion out. But his sadness didn't matter if it was for Sasuke's well-being. Shisui remained quiet for a moment. Then he said something Itachi wasn't expecting to hear.
"I think you're overestimating yourself Itachi." He said, making his cousin frown in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Itachi asked.
"Do you really believe you're strong enough to handle it if Sasuke really does start to hate you? So far, the boy has only ever worshiped you. Looked up to you. Would you be able to see hatred in his eyes for you instead?" Itachi opened his mouth to say that yes, he could. He could do anything for Sasuke. Didn't everyone know that already? Well, everyone that really knew the brothers closely.
"Besides, I don't think you pushing Sasuke away from yourself is really gonna help the kid in any way," said Shisui, making Itachi wonder why.
"Why is that?" He asked.
"Think about it from Sasuke's perspective. He believes that everyone looks down on him. Even his own father. He believes he isn't good enough. Now his only source of strength, comfort, and support is also pushing him away. What do you think what's going through Sasuke's mind due to this behavior? That, perhaps like everyone else his dear big brother also thinks him unworthy now. Someone undeserving of your attention. I'm no psychiatrist but that kind of thinking wouldn't be very helpful for Sasuke-chan." What Shisui just said put Itachi into deep thinking. Was he really going about it the wrong way? He obviously knew he was hurting Sasuke by distancing himself from his little brother. Itachi had thought once Sasuke started hating him the little raven would begin to fly on his own without any help from his big brother. And that consequently would make people notice Sasuke for who he was, as an individual. But was it really possible that his method would only destroy and hurt Sasuke more, instead of helping him?
"I think you should go back home to Sasuke and take him to that Carnival. It's not too late yet" said Shisui. Itachi thought about it for a moment.
"No, I'll help you with this. I promise I'll talk to Sasuke and make it up to him later. Besides, it seems it's gonna rain soon" said Itachi looking out the window. The wind was blowing very strongly. A clear sign that a storm was coming.
It was raining heavily outside. Both cousins were working on the computers very diligently. Itachi had a feeling they were very close to finding solid proof of Danzo's involvement in the attack on him. It was already past ten but it was clear that neither of the cousins would be getting any sleep tonight. Not if they wanted to finish the task. Suddenly Itachi's phone went off. The boy checked the ID and it was his mother calling.
"Hello, mother?"
"Is everything alright?" Itachi asked. He suddenly started having a bad feeling in his guts which started to worry Itachi.
"I've asked Kakashi to pick you up Itachi. You're coming back home right away." Mikoto wasn't yelling but her voice was terribly firm. Itachi never heard his mother talk like that before.
"Mother, what happened?" Itachi asked now getting anxious and very worried.
"Just do as I say Itachi. Kakashi should be there in a few minutes." With that Mikoto ended the call, leaving a baffled Itachi to wonder what the hell was going on?
"What happened?" Shisui asked with concern in his voice.
"I don't know. Kakashi is coming here to pick me up and take me home. Mother didn't say anything else," said Itachi.
"It must be something very important. Do you want me to come along?" Shisui asked.
"No, you need to keep working on this," said Itachi.
"Alright but let me know if you need my help," said Shisui. Itachi simply nodded his head to that. Not a minute passed by when Itachi received a call from Kakashi asking him to come out. He was waiting for Itachi in the driveway. It was still raining heavily. Itachi said bye to Shisui and got in the car. Kakashi started driving at a rather fast speed. It was as if he wanted to reach his destination as fast as possible.
"What's going on Kakashi? Tell me what you know." Itachi demanded an answer right away.
"It's Sasuke" said Kakashi. Itachi immediately felt his heart skipping a beat.
"What happened to Sasuke?" The boy asked with dread in his voice.
"I don't know the details. But your mother sounded very worried. I'm guessing it's something pretty serious for her to ask me to bring you back home as soon as possible." Hearing that from Kakashi, Itachi only grew more worried. Now he was desperate to reach home as fast as possible. What could have happened to Sasuke? Itachi knew his baby brother would be pretty upset with him about not going to the carnival as he had promised. Did Sasuke do anything stupid? Did he got hurt somehow? Dozens of questions started to run through Itachi's mind. And the more he thought about it, the more terrified he started to feel about Sasuke's well-being.
Kakashi hadn't even pulled over properly when Itachi jumped out of the car as soon as they arrived at the mansion. Itachi didn't need to go inside the mansion to find out what was going on. He was greeted with the sight of Sasuke sitting on the front steps of the mansion. He was soaking wet due to the rain. A maid was holding an umbrella over him but that wasn't doing any good. The wind was too strong therefore the boy was getting drenched anyway. As soon as the maid saw Itachi coming, she bowed her head and left to inform Mikoto about it. Itachi walked over to Sasuke. His baby brother was shaking from head to toe. He must be chilled to the bones. Why was Sasuke sitting outside like this? He was gonna get sick if he didn't get back inside right away and warmed up.
"Sasuke-" Before Itachi could say more, Mikoto came there looking all anxious but also relieved.
"Itachi, thank goodness. Please take your brother inside. He said he'd wait for you right here as long as you didn't return. I've been trying for hours to make him listen but you know how stubborn he can be." Mikoto shook her head at her second born. She was clearly displeased with Sasuke at the moment.
"We are lucky that your father isn't home today. He'd have punished Sasuke for this behavior. You know he doesn't tolerate foolishness like this."
"Now please, before he lands himself in a hospital, take your brother inside." Mikoto was certainly worried but she was angry too. Sasuke shouldn't be so stubborn. He was grown up enough to understand that his brother was busy with school work and that he needed space. Obviously, she failed to see the wrongness of Itachi making a promise to Sasuke and then heartlessly breaking it as if it was nothing. She didn't find any fault with Sasuke getting his hope crushed. Perhaps she'd have noticed and thought about it too, if Sasuke hadn't done something so drastic as staying in the rain for hours, waiting for his brother.
"Don't worry mother. I'll take care of him." Itachi assured Mikoto.
"Thank you, Itachi. I'll go thank Kakashi and see him off." Mikoto said and she started to walk over to the silver-haired man who was silently observing the family drama. Itachi looked back at his brother. The boy was still sitting on the steps, unmoved. His head was down and it seemed he had no intention of looking up at Itachi anytime soon. Having no other choice, Itachi kneel down in front of Sasuke so that he could look at his baby brother. Itachi reached out a hand, intending to cup Sasuke's cheek and make his brother look at him. However, before Itachi's hand could touch Sasuke's face, another hand caught his wrist and stopped it midway.
"Sasuke?" Itachi whispered out in confusion. Without making a single sound, Sasuke let go of Itachi's wrist. He stood up quietly and started to walk inside the mansion. Feeling utterly confused, Itachi followed his otouto inside. Sasuke walked up to his own bedroom. It was hard for Sasuke to walk properly since his knees were shaking and his legs felt pretty numb too. But he refused to stumble. Not in front of Itachi. Never in front of him. Sasuke got inside his bedroom and was about to close the door but Itachi stopped him.
"Otouto, please talk to me." Sasuke's behavior was worrying Itachi. His brother had never behaved like this before. Sasuke then whispered something that Itachi could barely hear.
"Otouto, I didn't hear you. Please look at me-"
"I SAID DON'T CALL ME OTOUTO." This time Sasuke yelled it out loud. However, he still refused to look up at his brother.
"Don't call me that when you are so ashamed of having me as your brother!" Itachi's eyes widened hearing that. He couldn't believe his own ears. At that moment, Sasuke started shaking quite violently. Whether it was from anger or too much pain or the cold or perhaps all of them.
"Sasuke what are you even talking about?!" Itachi demanded an explanation. The sheer ridiculousness of what Sasuke just said left Itachi dumbfounded.
"I really am foolish. I am so stupid. All this time you kept pushing me away. You kept breaking your promises to me. But it took me so long to understand why." Finally, Sasuke looked up and looked straight into Itachi's eyes. The older sibling was taken aback at what he saw in Sasuke's eyes. There was so much anger and pain in those black orbs. It was shocking for Itachi to say the least.
"You don't like me anymore, do you Itachi?" Itachi? Sasuke had never called him by his name before. It was always nii-san or aniki.
"In fact, I'm nothing but a nuisance to you now and you hate me for it, don't you?" Itachi, hate him? Unbelievable! Just what the hell Sasuke was thinking?
"I get it. I'm not worthy anymore to be the brother of the great prodigy of the Uchiha family. Perhaps I never was." Big drop of tears started to roll down Sasuke's face even when the boy tried his best to hold them back. Those tears really did a number on Itachi's heart.
"Perhaps you were only tolerating my existence because you didn't have any other choice." Sasuke wiped away his tears with the back of his hand and glared at Itachi with anger this time.
"Well, here's some good news for you Itachi. You no longer have to put up with my pathetic self. From now on I swear never to bother you. I'll never pester you for attention again. You can also quit making false promises to me. There's no need for that anymore." Sasuke inhaled a deep breath before saying one last conclusive statement.
"And from this moment, we are no longer brothers. You are not my nii-san anymore and I'm no longer your otouto."
"Leave and go back to being busy. I wish to be alone." Saying that, without giving Itachi any chance to say anything, Sasuke shut the door on the elder's face and locked it. Truth to be told, Itachi perhaps couldn't have said anything anyway had he been given a chance to. He was just so unbelievably shocked. The things that Sasuke just said. Itachi never thought of hearing them even in his wildest imagination. Not to mention, he felt utterly miserable too. A drop of tear escaped Itachi's eye before he could stop it. Shisui was right. He was indeed overestimating himself. Itachi wasn't strong enough to handle Sasuke's hatred or anger. And he definitely hated seeing tears in his baby brother's eyes. Tears that he himself put in there. Itachi never loathed himself more. As the older brother stood before the closed door, feeling horribly guilty and heartbroken, he whispered to himself with a strong determined tone of voice.
"You're wrong Sasuke. You'll always be my otouto. Always. I will never let that change."